To wonder what is wrong with people who don't really drink

Off topic, but if you make tea like that, by adding a teabag to a cup of water, you will indeed have a disgusting insipid cup of water flavoured slightly with tea 🤔😣

Yes, tea contains water, as does all food, but processing any consumables in any way at all changes them. Processing water into tea does change it's properties (by adding caffeine and tannins, as well as potentially sugar and milk).

My schools in the 70's did not have drinking fountains. You could get a small glass of water if you stayed for school dinners and that was it.

I hardly drink anything. I know it’s likely bad for me but I rarely feel thirsty so I just forget. In a day I probably have two cups of tea and one glass of water.

I can't sleep from thinking about this

🥴

Only drink tea?

To make a cup of tea:
Fill kettle with water
Boil water
Pour boiled water into cup/mug
Add teabag to hot water. Brew
Remove teabag from hot water flavoured with tea leaves.
Add liquid milk (as opposed to dried)

The result is a cup of hot water flavoured with tea and milk!

Yes, tea and coffee can be slight diuretics but as long as they are drinking enough tea or coffee, it is not a problem.

Primary schools in the late 70s had water on tables and fountains in the playground. By the mid 80s, secondaries didn't have either.

You just didn't drink.

Add to that not being given water at home (to be fair it was revolting even before you allow for lots of places still having lead pipes at the time), tons of people just aren't going to expect drinks because they didn't have access to them as kids.

I remember being surprised by my first boyfriend's 2l plastic jug of personal water (which carried the distinct taste and stench of tupperware) and the pints of water he and his family would knock back at the table - although I did suspect it was partly due to it being quicker and easier to wash down/swallow food largely unchewed, due to them having full sets of fillings by 11 and both his parents with dental plates top and bottom by their 50s.

I probably remember to drink one of every 3 drinks DP makes and it wouldn't occur to me to buy anything in advance. We have teabags, we have coffee, we have water - it would require a special effort or plan to get anything else in advance.

I drink coffee and water throughout the day so I do get enough liquid but

i don’t tend to drink with a meal at home I find I eat more if I do. I might have a bit of water before as I’m dishing up to wet my mouth and normally have a glass of water after I finish when I take my plate through then a coffee within an hour of finishing
unless I’m having wine on Saturday night which I’ll sip as I eat. Or a gin and tonic or something every so often.

i do have both tap water and wine if I’m in a restaurant though as I find my mouth is so dry.

The people I think are weird are those who drink alcohol with food.

I just can't wrap my head around having a nice three course meal and then drinking wine with it. I love a nice glass of wine - but before or after food. When I'm eating I need actual liquid to wash it down with and I can hardly ask for a pint of wine 😂

Appreciate that to many this makes me the odd one!

I don't get it either. I drink through my meal but DP only downs his water at the end of the meal.

When I was young one of my tasks was to set the table which included putting glasses and water on the table.

Oh right, sorry.

Yes, but I was talking about drinks with a meal, not after (or at other times of day).

Yes, but that's not what I said. The poster I was replying to was specifically referring to drinks with a meal, not drinks in general when hosting or being hosted.

I lived in Italy for years, and non-alcoholic drinks offered with a meal would basically be water, still or sparkling. Why would you drink sweet stuff like squash, juice, fizzy crap, that must interfere with the taste of your food (especially savoury dishes)? I just don't understand it or think it's necessary.

Before, after the meal, any other times, of course have a variety of drinks.

I could survive off water as my only drink...but I could also survive without my house being furnished. I could live on plain rice. I could survive with one set of clothes. I could survive without a car. We do lots and lots of things in our life that aren't particularly necessary...they just make life a bit more colourful and enjoyable. The idea that guests would come over and I'd have nothing to offer them except tap water is absolutely alien to me. Totally miserable

It's quite unusual to have no type of milk for tea and coffee.

That is interesting, maybe it is a generational thing or perhaps area specific? I was brought up being told it was rude to arrive empty handed.

If I was staying at someone's house I'd turn up with a bag of cake, treats & drinks to share, and depending on plans, the ingredients to make a meal for everyone as a thank you to the host for having me.

But this is perfectly normal! Why do you feel you need a load of sugar/artificial sweeteners with your meal?
That's just habit, not real need surely

😅

I am currently having my lunch and I am now hyper-aware of how I am drinking....my question to the people who say they never drink with a meal...

Have you literally never had a meal that was a bit hot and wanted some water to cool your mouth down??

Have you never got something stuck in your teeth?? or wanted to get rid of the flavour of something before you eat something different?? or just wanted to make sure you don't breathe food smells all over someone you might be speaking to soon??

Literally seems like madness that people claim they don't drink at meal times...I guess I know which camp I am in though!!!

CortieTat

I also have my wee tea ceremony

I think I've seen Bear Grylls doing that.

I’d find it off-putting people pushing drinks and snacks on me because it would make me uncomfortable. I’m not a snacker or someone in constant need of beverages. I drink and eat when I’m hungry or wait until a meal is served. I eat my meal first and then drink.

I agree the hosts could have asked their guests what they like to drink beforehand, but if they didn’t, OP could have asked if it was ok for them to bring xyz.

If they said no to OP bringing their own beverages then OP is free to decline to visit if that is an issue for them.

I mainly drink sparkling water and weak squash. I have two water bottles on rotation with sparkling water, one I drink from and one in the fridge. I don’t drink hot drinks often unless it is really cold outside which for me is below zero Celsius which it rarely gets that cold where I am in Oxfordshire anyway for long.

I wouldn’t be happy with just tea or tap water to drink but if it really mattered to me and I needed xyz to drink, I would just go get it. If the hosts are a bit offended, so be it, and they won’t invite me anymore which is a win if that is the major thing that offends them about me.

I’m a big tea drinker. Give me anything -cha and I’ll drink it. I also need big containers, my standard mug used for sencha and genmaicha is 1 pint. I also have my wee tea ceremony when I spend considerable time making matcha for myself and then I drink it in a very elegant, hand-painted, HUGE china coffee cup on a hand-painted saucer. I would probably get banned from Japan for this.

I drink water rarely and I don’t drink while eating, I usually get an espresso with my tea after a meal. I usually start my day with a pint of tea and then proceed directly to my morning coffee.

you need a hobby :)

Oh for goodness sake, pre school not pre season!

I haven't read the whole thread, but it seems to be a generational thing. I remember getting terribly thirsty when out with my mother, probably pre-season school age. Portable still drinks didn't seen to be a thing then, so sometimes I'd have a can of fizzy bought for me. I could never drink it all - I'd try, but it would make my stomach hurt, and then I'd be scolded for wasting it. As an adult I've never drunk enough, and suffer from constipation and dry skin - I just don't feel thirsty, I think I trained myself not to. I envy in retrospect the children with their little portable water bottles!

Yes I've seen that too.

The tea one I've heard over the years. Even the pharmacist advised me not to have tea within an hour or so of iron tablets.